(Quote by Martin Luther King)

Whose accounts did you end up believing, Christine Blasey Ford’s or Judge Kavanaugh’s? Why?

What is your reaction to the vote? How do you feel the fight over his confirmation will affect women?

Most of the senators who voted were men. Would it have made any difference if more women were senators and able to vote? How important is it to have more women in public office?

Does this decision spur you to any kind of political action, such as voting in the midterm elections or attending political protests? If so, what do you plan to do? Or does it feel like meaningful change is out of reach?

If you were to pass down one lesson to your son or daughter from Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination and hearings, what would it be?

Share your thoughts here. This NY Times page does not count against free view access.

CD25 is Steve Knight’s district which includes part of Ventura County, Santa Clarita, Lancaster, and Palmdale. We Venturans can’t vote Knight out, but we can help our neighbors rid themselves of him – and help ourselves by removing one of the 24 Trump minions needed to turn the House blue! We are not endorsing a candidate, just advocating power to the polls.

Our appeal will be directly to the voters in CA25 – NOT mass political mailings, because all of our cards will be handwritten. Each will be a message from one voter to another. We are simply asking Americans to do that most American thing — VOTE!

CD1 is LaMalfa’s district which is spread out, red, and rural. The CD1 Democratic Alliance have asked us to write postcards to their rural democratic voters, encouraging them to turn out to vote. We are not endorsing a candidate, just advocating power to the polls.

Our appeal will be directly to the voters in CA-1 – NOT mass political mailings, because all of our cards will be handwritten. Each will be a message from one voter to another. We are simply asking Americans to do that most American thing — VOTE!

Quote from Harper Jean Tobin of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

You are sitting in one of those horrible backless gowns on a paper-covered table, waiting…

You are sick, or hurt, or need a legal medical procedure. This is not where you want to be right now, but you need help.

If you can’t imagine for yourself, do so for your child, or grandchild…

The door opens. A scrubs-covered medical professional comes in, reading a file.

A moment of silence.

“Treating you would violate my sincerely-held religious beliefs. You’ll have to wait until we can find someone else to deal with you.”

Door closes.

A new HHS rule would allow physicians and health care workers to opt out of procedures that conflict with their religious teachings…We need to send in comments today and tomorrow to stop this.

You do not need to be a woman to feel the importance of this.
You do not need to be part of the LGBTQ community.
You just need to do what we say we do.
Stand INDIVISIBLE with vulnerable Americans, who are, even now, being traumatized by these types of behavior. This proposal just lets offenders off without consequences.

We really like this gif-filled explanation guide from the National Women’s Law Center. Lots of information in here to use in your comments.

HOWARD NIELSON IS A RADICAL RIGHT-WING CHOICE FOR THE JUDICIARY, AND THE SENATE MUST STOP HIS CONFIRMATION.

We’ve talked about Howard Nielson before…one more of the seemingly endless supply of reactionary hard-right candidates the Trump administration has loaded up, ready to take over lifetime appointments in our court system.

Pay attention to what he’s done. Not what he says…

Anti-LGBTQ+:Nielson defended the anti-LGBTQ Proposition 8 in California by arguing that the federal judge hearing the case should be disqualified for being gay. His bigoted motion to disqualify the judge was denied. During the court case, he put forth the arguments that same-sex attraction was a choice and that LGBTQ individuals were not discriminated against. He also wrote an amicus brief against Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

Politicized the DoJ: In 2002, Nielson participated in the illegal politicization of the hiring process for civil servants at the Justice Department by screening out left-leaning candidates for openings. In a report regarding this, he inspector general added, “the problem was not necessarily with the law. The problem was with the application of the law by the people in the Department of Justice, which is very troubling that the Department of Justice would not adhere to the law.”

Pro-Torture: Nielson’s involvement with issues of torture and executive power must be fully disclosed. He worked under Steven Bradbury (the architect of the Bush-era torture regime and a recently-confirmed Trump administration lawyer) during the George W. Bush administration, and assisted Bradbury in crafting the legal rationale to justify torture of detainees. Nielson’s argument that the US could torture people as long as they weren’t physically in the US caused Betty Van Schaack, former Deputy to the Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes, to say that his

Calls actions – Two quick ones that are being voted on today! If you’ve called before, call again. These are that important.

Call #1 – This dangerous anti-choice bill is scheduled for voting on Monday at 5:30 pm. Get your calls in early. Try the DC offices first.

The House has already passed their version of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) plans to bring the Senate version (S. 1922) to a vote this week, perhaps in time for the State of the Union address and in a calculated move to target Democrats before the midterms.

Why is access to abortions after 20 weeks so important? Read this woman’s story and this one. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, download it on itunes.

Minimal Script: I am calling from [zip code] to thank Sen. [___] for supporting a woman’s essential liberty to choose what’s necessary for her and her family in consultation with her medical advisors and to strongly and publicly oppose S. 1922 – Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.